Derek & Sharon shared this inverted security envelope idea on Design Sponge earlier and I thought it was worth mentioning. Now, probably not a great idea for wedding invitations - but it’s a very neat way to dress up thank you notes. They are very affordable - all you need is a little glue. They are also environmentally friendly, since you are reusing envelopes rather then throwing them out. Visit Design Sponge for simple, easy to follow instructions.
Whenever you plan a wedding theme, the first thing to do is pick a key point. For a beach wedding, this might be the color blue, or sea shells. For a 4th of July or Memorial Day wedding, red, white and blue – and flags, are the obvious choice. So, how do you plan a red, white and blue wedding that is gorgeous and affordable? Well, let’s take a look:
Start with the clothing. For the bride, a stunning red and white wedding gown, like ANNA shown here. For the groom, a white or navy blue suit with a red vest and tie. The flower girl will look beautiful in a red gown with a navy blue sash, to match the navy blue bridesmaid gowns. The groomsmen would be in navy or white tuxedos with navy vest and tie. Personally, I think white would look amazing. Tuxedos with tails and top hats would also be stunning. Finish of the look with red necklaces for the girls, and blue for the bride – and red roses for the bouquets and boutinierres.
For wedding invitations, use a navy blue cardstock, with a frosted vellum overlay printed with your information. Tie the two together with a red ribbon, and seal in an envelope with a flag sticker or a wax seal.
For the ceremony, decorate the center aisle with a white aisle runner. At the edge of each pew or row – place a pew bow of white tulle decorated with red and blue ribbon, ivy and a tiny US flag. If you need to fit into a smaller budget – put them only on the first few rows were immediate family and honored guests will be sitting. If you want an archway at the alter, decorate it with white tulle, red and blue ribbon, ivy and tiny flags to match the pew bows.
There are two unique guest book ideas that come to mind. You could take a large piece of parchment and have your names, date and place written on top in old fashioned calligraphy. Distress the paper, and tie it with a ribbon for a week or so before the wedding – so it has the just unrolled look. Have guests sign – just like the fore fathers did. Of, find a flag that is large, but small enough to still hang on a wall. Have your names and dates embroidered on the center, and then have guests use fabric pens to sign on the flag. This flag can then be framed and hung later on.
Remembrance – You may want to do something to remember those who gave their lives as well. Place a small side table with three candles – red, white and blue somewere were it will be seen. Place a wreath of red, white and blue flowers in front. This could be placed by the guestbook table, or near the entrance to the sanctuary. It could also go in the reception hall near the cake table or in front of the head table if you wanted.
For reception décor, use white table clothes. Decorate the head table with tulle, ribbon, ivy and tiny flags as you did the pew bows. For the guest tables, you can use small flower arrangements of red carnations with blue and white ribbons, and a little flag in the center. Accent the centerpiece with red, white and blue confetti. Oil lanterns with an old fashion look would also make great centerpieces. If they are clear –red and blue oil make a great touch! If you are using table markers – name each table after a founding father or a state. A rose bowl with a floating candle would make a great centerpiece as well – just tie red and blue ribbon around the top.
This is the perfect wedding theme for an All American Bar-B-Que! For an informal wedding, offer a buffet of freshed grilled beef and chicken burgers, fruit salad, potato salad, coleslaw, etc. For a more formal wedding, bar-b-qued chicken with baked potatoes is perfect. A cake or dessert dish decorated with strawberries and blueberries is the perfect end to the meal. We have another article posted on red, blue and white wedding cakes for a 4th of July wedding as well -you can read it here.
And for a finishing touch – don’t forget to leave the wedding in a bang: yes I mean fireworks. Plan for a fireworks display to take place as part of your farewell as you and your new husband leave the wedding! If you are not able to have fireworks, opt for some amazing 36” sparkles for guests to use to see you off!
AFTERTHOUGHT: Eagles would also make a great addition to your decor for a July 4th wedding. Don’t think eagles are romantic? You might change your mind. Eagles are one of the few animals on earth that mate for life. When a pair of eagles meet, they will soar together as high above the clouds - male chasing female. Then, she will allow herself to fall. If the male catches her on his back - they will remain together for the rest of their lives! What a wonderful display of love, trust, and faithfulness. “When you soar, I will soar with you. When you fall, I will catch you.”
FOR MORE 4th of July Wedding Ideas and Wedding Favor Suggestions, Click Here.
Hello,
We are on a ‘tight budget. We are planning to be married at the Justice of the Peace; because we just had a baby (yes backwards!) and cannot afford a big or small wedding right now. I have 2 questions how do you ‘announce’ you’re getting married (at the JOP) without making the guests feel cheated or slighted and any ideas on how to have a reception later also without making the guests feel like they were cheated out of seeing us get married??!
ANSWER
After the wedding, send out annoucement cards. The cards, much like invitations should state:
If you already know when you are planning to have the reception:
_______ & _________
are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter
______________________________
to
_______________________________
son of __________ & _________
The wedding took place on
_______________________________
You are invited to join us in celebrating this union with a reception in the new couples honor to be held:
___________________________________
Details will follow.
If you don’t know when you are planning to have the reception:
_______ & _________
are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter
______________________________
to
_______________________________
son of __________ & _________
The wedding took place on
_______________________________
A reception in honor of this union is being planned. Invitations and details will follow shortly.
Now, that takes care of letting people know that you are married and that a reception is being planned. There will be some people who will wish they could have seen you exchange vows. What you can do is make that part of the reception. Not a full ceremony - but a short program during which you exchange vows and rings publicly, either on your own or with a officiant there. There is no legal need to do this, but in almost all cases, those who would have been offended will be happy with that.
If you want, you can also include that on the annoucement:
You are invited to join us in witnessing the exchange of vows and rings, followed by a reception in the new couples honor to be held:
or
A public exchange of vows and a reception in honor of this union is being planned. Invitations and details will follow shortly.
If you are having a pastor or preist there: use Public exchange of vows and blessing of the rings(union), etc.
One last note: the annoucement above was written as sent by the parents.
Here is the layout if you wanted to send it from your baby:
___________________________________
is pleased to announce the marriage of her mother
______________________________
daughter of
___________________ & ______________
to her father
___________________________________
son of
_________________ & _________________
If you want it sent by you:
_________________________________
daughter of
__________________&_____________________
and
______________________________________
son of
________________________ & ____________________
are please to announce their marriage, which took place:
QUESTION: Hello,my daughter is getting married this June. Several months ago she had her invitations professionally done. For personal reasons they now need to change the church & reception names,times. Is there anyway to fix the original invitations,like using wordpad, select the type to invitation’s letter style. Or would there be a better way to cover-up the wording to put the new arrangements on them it’s too expensive to have them completely redone.Your help would be greatly appreciated.
My Answer:
It really depends on the style and type of invitation. If it is white, you could use a roll on type of white out and then try and print over them. Do some test ones first to make sure you have the line up right. Another option would be to print the new information on labels and stick them over the old information. It will not look as great as the first ones, but at will be cheaper then new ones.
Here is another option that would look elegant and be affordable. Stop in at your local craft or scrapbooking store and pick up some solid paper in a different color, light enough to print on though - maybe in the wedding color. If you pick 12×12 papers, you may be able to do 4 invitations per paper, depending on the size of the original invitation. These papers are usually less then a $1 each, so 25 cents per invitation!
Then, cut the papers into pieces about 1/2 an inch smaller then the invitation inside. Cut one first, and place it over the text to make sure it actually covers all the invitation wording. Then, cut the rest and print all of the invitation wording on to each on. You can then stick them onto the invitation over the original wording! It will look like they were meant to be there! I recommend using double sided scrapbooking “tape”. It holds well and will not bunch like glue, which will keep it looking professional and clean!
Hope that helps:)Questions and let us know!
Thank-you notes are important, but between the wedding fits, the showers, and the engagement parties, the list of thank-you notes to send can really add up, not to mention the postage costs! Here are my suggestions for ways to say thank-you on budget:
1. If you plan on sending out photos, include you thank-you with or on the photos, so you only have to pay postage once!
2. Use phone if they are local - personal thank-yous are always appreciated, and have a special touch.
3. Skip the cards! You can buy thank-you cards to match your invitations, but this is an expense you don’t need! Instead, pick up some nice note paper or blank cards at the dollar store and write a nice personal note.
4. Hand deliver thank-you notes to friends and family you see often, or better yet, say thank-you in person!
5. Send E-mail thank-yous! Make sure the e-mail is personal, addressed only to them, and mention WHAT you are thanking them for! You can even attach your wedding photos to share at the same time!
6. Combine Thank-yous - keep a list of items received through-out the engagement and wedding events - then send one thank-you to each person/couple, thanking them for the wedding and engagement or shower gifts at the same time.
Use a combination of methods if you wish - say thank-you in person to those you see daily, e-mail those who have e-mail, call the local ones who don’t and finally, mail out thank-yous to those who don’t fit into any of the above options. There is no rule that states that every one must receive the same thank-you:)
I decided to change our “Featured Sponsor” space to Wedding Paper Divas this afternoon, because I am totally in love with their website:) Check out these amazing Save The Date Cards, all priced at $1.30 in quantities as low as 25. Plus, you get an extra 5% off if you use coupon code WINTER07 before February 1st, 08.
Gorgeous!
Here is a find I HAD to share!! I found this seller on eBay (yes, I spend a fair bit of time on there, lol) and they offer custom monograms. The ones above are just a few of the options offered, and the cost is fairly reasonable - less then $20 for a digital custom monogram which you can then use on your STD’s, invitations, programs, etc. If you want to try your hand at some DIY projects but aren’t all the graphically inclined - this is a great, affordable way to add a professional touch to all your DIY projects:)
UPDATE: This seller also has a website! If she doesn’t have any listed on eBay, you can find her collection on her website as well.
Most of my loyal readers already know that I am into weddings - and that I design and sell wedding gowns. I also do graphic and website design, which is what my “official” education is in. Recently, I have been working on a new project: Wedding Invitations! The goal right now is to come up with a new collection of wedding invitation designs which will be released in January. Right now, I am working on design ideas and making samples. So far, 4 designs have made the final cut and I thought I would give you a sneak peak:)
First - How it will work:
Each collection starts with a basic photo card design which will be customized with your text, fonts, images and colors. Then, brides can pick the style that suits their wedding and budget best: basic photo card, double layer invitation, triple layer, folded invitation or gate-fold invitation. Paper colors will be customizable to of course. For the folded and gate-fold invitations, there will also be accent options for the front of the invitation. Last, but not least, there will be options for matching reception cards, RSVP cards, envelopes, etc.
SO - here is one of the 4 designs, shown in the 5 basic style options:
And here is a sneak peak at the 4 designs that have made the cut so far:
As I said earlier, this will be released as part of the complete collection in January. If you can’t wait and would like to have me make your invitations, send me an email and we’ll make a deal:) dcakru@mts.net
We’ve been writing about Save The Date’s today, and I got the opportunity to review an online boutique that carries save the date magnets and wedding invitations. They have also been kind enough to offer a discount to our readers, but I will tell you more about that at the end of my post so keep reading:)
The company is called MagnetStreet Weddings and they are a family-owned company located in Blaine, Minnesota. They carry an astounding selection of designs, put together by their own in-house designers. There are many elegant and modern designs in their collection. 37 pages - 20 per page in fact, lol. Their prices aren’t to bad either - I didn’t check all of them, lol - but the majority that I did check started at $1.99-$1.49/each for 50, and then lower if you purchase larger quantities.
Picking favorites to share here was just about impossible, lol. By the time I got to page 2, I had saved so many it was ridiculous. So, I attempted to pick out just a few so you can get a taste of what they have to offer. To see the rest, you’ll have to stop over there for a visit.
And since this is a budget site - Prices: All the ones below are $1.99 ea for 50, $1.49 ea for 100, $1.09 ea for 150, .89 each for 200. As I said, they are a very affordable option, especially if you need a large quantity. And - like I promised earlier - you can use Discount Code: WB10FS to take a 10% discount and free shipping off your order:)
Since my last post was about Save The Date cards, I thought I would look for some STD bargains to share today:) I found a lot, but for this post, I am going to show you three of my favorites:)
First up is a clear vellum Save The Date card, that comes in just about any color you wish. What you do is send them the font color you prefer, and then they find a ribbon to match that font color as closely as possible. These are definitely adorable and priced at $25 for 50 - that’s 50 cents a piece. Not bad at all. You can also pick from a large selection of font faces so that it better matches the look and feel you are aiming for with your wedding.
I also liked these Shadow Box Magnet save the date cards. I like the dimensional idea, it’s a nice twist on the popular magnet choice. From what I can tell, they are only available in the white and black - but they are very elegant and would work with any wedding scheme. These ones are $48 for 48 - so twice the price as the ones above, but that is till a fairly decent price.
And my last find is not a card, but it’s a nice touch. These are Save The Date envelope seals, and they are just adorable so I had to share them:) They are fairly cheap as well, a set of 25 seals is less then $4. If you have the budget for that, it’s an awesome way to add a finishing touch to you STD’s before you send them out:)
